Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Oblige
O-blige′
(ō̍-blīj′; 277)
, Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Obliged
(ō̍-blījd′)
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Obliging
(ō̍-blī′jĭng)
.] 1.
To attach, as by a bond.
[Obs.]
He had
obliged
all the senators and magistrates firmly to himself. Bacon.
2.
To constrain by physical, moral, or legal force; to put under obligation to do or forbear something.
The
obliging
power of the law is neither founded in, nor to be measured by, the rewards and punishments annexed to it. South.
Religion
obliges
men to the practice of those virtues which conduce to the preservation of our health. Tillotson.
3.
To bind by some favor rendered; to place under a debt; hence, to do a favor to; to please; to gratify; to accommodate.
Thus man, by his own strength, to heaven would soar,
And would not be
And would not be
obliged
to God for more. Dryden.
The gates before it are brass, and the whole much
obliged
to Pope Urban VIII. Evelyn.
I shall be more
obliged
to you than I can express. Mrs. E. Montagu.
Webster 1828 Edition
Oblige
OBLI'GE
,Verb.
T.
1.
To constrain by necessity; to compel by physical force. an admiral may be obliged to surrender his ships, or he may be obliged by adverse winds to delay sailing.2.
To constrain by legal force; to bind in law. We are obliged to pay toll for supporting roads and bridges.3.
To bind or constrain by moral force. We are obliged to believe positive and unsuspected testimony.4.
To bind in conscience or honor; to constrain by a sense of propriety. We are often obliged to conform to established customs, rites or ceremonies. To be obliged to yield to fashion is often the worst species of tyranny.5.
To do a favor to; to lay under obligation of gratitude; as, to oblige one with a loan of money.6.
To do a favor to; to please; to gratify. Oblige us with your company at dinner.7.
To indebt.To those hills we are obliged for all our metals.
Definition 2024
oblige
oblige
See also: obligé
English
Verb
oblige (third-person singular simple present obliges, present participle obliging, simple past and past participle obliged)
- (transitive) To constrain someone by force or by social, moral or legal means.
- I am obliged to report to the police station every week.
- 1749, John Cleland, Fanny Hill: Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure, Part 3
- Tho' he was some time awake before me, yet did he not offer to disturb a repose he had given me so much occasion for; but on my first stirring, which was not till past ten o'clock, I was oblig'd to endure one more trial of his manhood.
- 1749, John Cleland, Fanny Hill: Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure, Part 3
- (transitive) To do someone a service or favour (hence, originally, creating an obligation).
- He obliged me by not parking his car in the drive.
- 1719, John Harris, Astronomical dialogues between a gentleman and a lady, page 151:
- In the mean time I have another trouble to give you, if you will oblige me in it; and that is to get me a sight of the famous Orrery, which I have heard you and others so often speak of; and which I think was made by Mr. Rowley, the famous Mathematical Instrument-Maker.
- (intransitive) To be indebted to someone.
- I am obliged to you for your recent help.
- (intransitive) To do a service or favour.
- The singer obliged with another song.
Derived terms
Usage notes
"Obliged" has largely replaced "obligate"; the latter being more common in the the 17th through 19th centuries.[1]
Related terms
Translations
to constrain someone by force or by social, moral or legal means
to do someone a service or favour (hence, originally, creating an obligation)
to be indebted to someone
Anagrams
References
- ↑ The New Fowler’s Modern English Usage (1996)
French
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɔbliʒ/
Verb
oblige